Extend your reach

Check out what your favorite YouTubers have been up to, and odds are someone is recording a live video.

Getting in on the action is virtually guaranteed to help you extend your overall reach.

It allows you to reach a larger percentage of your demographic that may have been inaccessible before.

Generate massive leads and sales

When you put it all together, it translates into more leads coming your way on a regular basis.

Not only that, the quality of your leads should increase as well.

They know you, trust you, and have rapport with you.

Therefore, a sizable portion of your leads is already primed to buy.

And it’s not unrealistic to expect repeat sales and long-term brand loyalty.

The Funky Fairy, a children’s clothing store in England, ran three sales over four days on Facebook Live.

Their goal was to liquidate their overstock inventory and quickly crank up sales.

The owner, Vicki Stewart, displayed the items for sale, while chatting about them.

Viewers, using comments, were also able to request specific items they wanted.

And it totally worked!

Views increased from roughly 7,000 during the first two sales to 10,000 for the last one.

This enabled The Funky Fairy to quickly move stock that otherwise would have probably just sat there.

Monetization strategies

There’s one last thing I would like to point out.

Increasing sales isn’t the only way to make more money through live video.

There are several ways you can monetize your videos to make money directly.

I came across an article from DaCast that highlights some specific ways you can make money broadcasting live video.

Offer pay-per-view or subscription-based videos.

Promote advertisers on your videos (“ads appear in the lower thirds of your video or as clips before your broadcast begins and/or interrupting it like standard television commercials”).

Ask for donations and link to sites like Patreon.

I suggest approaching these monetization strategies with caution (you don’t want to create a rift between you and your audience), but I felt they were worth mentioning.

Under the right circumstances, they could definitely help you drive higher profits.

Does it make sense for you?

At this point, I think we can all agree the market outlook for live video is extremely promising.

It’s also clear that using live video can be highly beneficial to your brand and help you increase revenue.

But it doesn’t mean it’s right for every single brand.

Not to burst your bubble, but live video may not be viable if you have a small audience.

For instance, YouTube mandates that a channel must have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers in order to live-stream.

This number was reduced significantly: earlier in 2017, you had to have at least 10,000 subscribers.

And quite frankly, it could be embarrassing if you go live and no one shows up.

Another issue is it can hurt your brand equity if you don’t nail it.

You’re basically gambling on your image by live-streaming.

Putting yourself out there could potentially backfire, and people may not necessarily like what they see.

Or maybe it’s just not for you.

It’s pretty common for people to freak out once the camera is on them.

All of a sudden, your mind goes blank and the whole thing is just awkward.

Remember, there’s no editing with live video.

Viewers see everything in real time.

I’m not trying to kill your vibe, but it’s important to look at all the angles before you decide to start using live video.

Conclusion

Live video is a powerful new format, changing the content marketing game.

Most experts are predicting it will continue to grow and more companies will funnel big money into it.

The potential is huge.

If you follow the right formula and create engaging live video content, you can strengthen existing relationships, increase the size of your following, boost engagement, generate more leads and increase sales.

On top of this, there are several other ways to directly monetize your live videos.

But it’s important to note this medium isn’t viable for everyone.

I suggest giving it careful consideration before diving in head first.

If it’s something you’re seriously interested in and makes sense for your brand, give it a shot.